According to him, the promise made by Mahama, the flagbearer of the NDC, and other proponents of his party to release illegal small-scale miners (galamseyers) in the next NDC government is the reason why the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government is finding it so hard to fight galamsey.
He added that Mahama’s promise is aimed at winning votes and the data shows that it worked for the NDC in the 2020 election in galamsey-prone areas of the country, 3new.com reports.
”Don't go there and be telling the people that when they vote for [NDC] you will remove these people from jail to come and do galamsey, when you do that we will not win the fight against galamsey.
“All the governments that have come have fought galamsey but we all know the efforts have not yielded the results. We undermine our own fight when you have a party going to incite people against government telling them that ‘when you vote for you all those who have been arrested will be released,” he is quoted to have said in an interview on TV3’s Big Issue programme on December 5, 2023.
Akomea, a former MP and minister of state, added, “When you tell people this, you are undermining the fight, it is part of the reasons why we have failed”.
The STC boss, who is a member of the campaign team of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, made these comments while reacting to the imprisonment of renowned illegal small-scale miner Aisha Huang.
Aisha Huang, known as the 'Galamsey Queen,' was found guilty of all charges brought against her by the state.
The Accra High Court handed down a four-year prison term to her on Monday, December 4, asaaseradio.com reports
Aisha Huang, standing trial for illegal mining operations without a license, facilitating unlawful participation in mining, and re-entering Ghana post-deportation, had consistently denied the charges and remained in prison custody.
What Mahama said about releasing galamseyers:
John Dramani Mahama, prior to the December 7, 2020 elections, said that he would grant general amnesty to all persons jailed for small-scale mining-related offences if elected president again.
Interacting with the chiefs and people of Abesewa in the Ahafo Ano South East constituency on Tuesday, November 10, 2023, at the start of his five-day campaign tour of the Ashanti Region, Mahama once again said that his administration will give galamsey offenders a second chance to better their lives.
The former president also argued that persons financing galamsey activities are often not punished and the youth who are engaged by these financiers so they would get something to eat are always the ones arrested and jailed.
He said that the next NDC government would review the policy on small-scale mining to regularise the activities of illegal small-scale miners.
“Because of the fight against galamsey, some of the youth have been arrested. But with our new policy on small-scale mining when we come into power, we are going to start afresh.
“We know they have offended the law but I believe that these galamsey operators are remorseful so we will give them another chance,” he said.
BAI/OGB
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John Dramani Mahama (left) and Mahama Akomea